Crimping device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a crimping device that facilitates an adjustment operation and has a reduced height. A crimping device has a crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core of a wire onto which a terminal is to be crimped and a crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating of the wire, the mechanisms having respective adjustment dials, and the front of the crimping device facing in the opposite direction of the core. In the adjustment mechanisms, the adjustment dials thereof are disposed on the same axis so that the crimping device can have a reduced height compared with conventional crimping devices in which the adjustment mechanisms are disposed at positions different in the vertical direction.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a crimping device that has adjustment mechanisms that adjust the crimp heights for a core and an insulating coating, respectively, of a wire with an end stripped.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is desirable to have the ability to adjust the crimp height for a core and an insulated coating of a wire when a terminal is crimped onto the core and the insulating coating. Crimping devices with adjustment mechanisms for adjust the crimp heights for a core and an insulating coating of a wire with an end stripped are known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-6849, discloses a crimping device with adjustment mechanisms.

However, in the crimping device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-6849, operating the crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and the crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating involves additional operations, such as loosening of a predetermined fastened part, so that it takes time to adjust the crimp heights.

Another crimping device that has two dials for operating the two height adjustment mechanisms is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-27086.

FIG. 1 is a front view of essential parts of the crimping device described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-27086. Crimping device 1 has, on the front thereof, dials for operating the crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and the crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating and includes a prime mover section that produces a force required for crimping and an applicator that achieves crimping of a terminal using the force produced by the prime mover section.

As shown in FIG. 1, the crimping device 1 has a press ram 11, which transmits force produced by a prime mover section to an applicator 20. The applicator 20 is composed of a machine casing 21, an anvil unit 22 and a base 23. A pair of vertical rails 24 are fixed to the machine casing 21, and an oscillation beam 26 is supported on the machine casing 21 by a shaft 26 a. A tool ram 25 is guided by the vertical rails 24 to move up and down. The tool ram 25, in cooperation with the anvil unit 22, crimps a terminal onto a stripped part 30 a of a wire (see FIG. 2).

The tool ram 25 is connected to the press ram 11 described above and has a cam roller 25 b supported on a side section 25 a thereof by a shaft 25 c. The cam roller 25 b is fitted into a cam groove 26 b formed in the oscillation beam 26. Thus, when the tool ram 25 moves up and down, the oscillation beam 26 oscillates about the shaft 26 a. A plate 28 is attached to a lower part of the oscillation beam 26, and a feeding claw 27, whose tip end engages with chained terminals n placed behind a terminal guide rail 23 a, is supported on the plate 28 by a shaft 27 b.

FIG. 2 is a side view of essential parts of the crimping device shown in FIG. 1.

A terminal n1 shown in FIG. 2 is composed of a contact part n11, an insulation barrel n12 for holding the coating of the wire 30, and a wire barrel n13 for holding a core 32 thereof. Multiple terminals n1 are connected to a carrier n14 to constitute the chained terminals n. A crimper section 25 d of the tool ram 25 shown also in FIG. 1 is composed of a cut-off punch 251 d, an insulation crimper 252 d for crimping the insulation barrel n12, and a wire crimper 253 d for crimping the wire barrel nl3.

In this crimping device 1, operation of a feeding claw 27 causes the terminal n1, which is the closest to the anvil unit 22 of the plural chained terminals n, to be placed on the anvil unit 22. Then, when the wire 30 with an end previously stripped is placed on the terminal n1 on the anvil unit 22, the press ram 11 moves downward, and the tool ram 25 connected to the press ram 11 is guided by the vertical rails 24 to move downward. Then, the tool ram 25 and the anvil unit 22 cooperate to cut a bridge part n15, which connects the terminal to the carrier n14, and crimp the terminal n1, separated from the chained terminals n, onto the stripped part 30 a. When the crimping is completed and the tool ram 25 begins to move upward, the cam roller 25 b also moves upward along the cam groove 26 b in the oscillation beam 26, and thus, the oscillation beam 26 oscillates about the shaft 26 a counterclockwise. This movement causes the feeding claw 27 to place a terminal, which is the closest to the anvil unit 22 of the chained terminals n, on the anvil unit 22 along the terminal guide rail 23 a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the anvil unit 22 is composed of a floating shear 221 having a groove cutting edge 221 a, an insulation anvil 222 and a wire anvil 223. When the tool ram 25 moves downward guided by the vertical rails 24, the bridge part n15 of the terminal n1 on the anvil unit 22 is cut by the cut off punch 251 d and the groove cutting edge 221 a of the floating shear 221, and the insulation barrel n12 is crimped onto the coating 31 of the wire 30 by the insulation crimper 252 d and the insulation anvil 222. In addition, the wire barrel n13 is crimped onto the core 32 of the wire 30 by the wire crimper 253 d and the wire anvil 223.

Here, in the crimping device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the crimp heights for the core and the coating are adjusted by changing the bottom dead centers of the wire crimper 253 d and the insulation crimper 252 d, respectively. In the crimping device 1, the bottom dead centers are changed by rotating the dials 40 and 50 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The upper dial 50 is for the wire crimper, and the lower dial 40 is for the insulation crimper. Adjustment operations can be achieved by manipulating the dials of the adjustment mechanisms.

In accordance with the recent trend toward downsizing, there is a demand for downsizing of the crimping devices for crimping a terminal onto a stripped part of a wire. However, the crimping device 1 disclosed in the above Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-27086 is difficult to reduce in height.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a crimping device is provided that has a crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core of a wire onto which a terminal is to be crimped and a crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating of the wire, the mechanisms having respective adjustment dials, and the front of the crimping device facing in the opposite direction of the core, in which the adjustment mechanisms are disposed on a same axis, and the adjustment dials of the adjustment mechanisms are disposed on the front of the crimping device.

Since the adjustment dials of the crimping device according to the present invention is disposed facing to the operator, the crimp height adjustment can be readily achieved. In addition, since the crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and the crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating are disposed on the same axis, the adjustment dials of the two adjustment mechanisms are also disposed on the same axis. Therefore, the crimping device according to the present invention can have a reduced height compared with conventional crimping devices that have the adjustment dials at positions different in the vertical direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of essential parts of a known crimping device;

FIG. 2 is a side view of essential parts of the crimping device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a crimping device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an applicator section of the crimping device shown in FIG. 3, viewed from the front thereof;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a tool ram of the applicator section of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a partial cross sectional side view of an upper part of the tool ram of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Now, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3-6.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a crimping device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

A crimping device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 has a housing section 101 that contains a prime mover (not shown) that drives a press ram 11, and an applicator section 102 that is attached to the housing section 101 and crimps a terminal onto a stripped end part of a wire using the force from the press ram 11.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the applicator section of the crimping device shown in FIG. 3, viewed from the front thereof.

For the applicator section 102, shown in FIG. 4, a terminal (not shown) is fed thereto from the left in the drawing, and a wire (not shown) with an end stripped to expose the core is fed thereto from the front in the drawing. As described in detail later, in the applicator section 102, a crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and a crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating are disposed on an axis of a dial 140 shown in FIG. 4.

The applicator section 102 shown in FIG. 4 essentially has a machine casing 121, a tool ram 125 that moves up and down with respect to the machine casing 121, an anvil unit 122, and a base 123. The machine casing 121 has a vertical rail 124 attached thereto, along which the tool ram 125 moves up and down.

In addition, the machine casing 121 has a side plate 130 with an elongated hole 130 a formed therein. A shaft 132 is provided between the machine casing 121 and a supporting member 133 attached to the housing section 101 (see FIG. 3) located to the left in FIG. 4.

The shaft 132 has a cam follower (not shown) provided thereon, which engages with a cam groove formed in a predetermined surface of the tool ram 125 to allow the shaft 132 to reciprocate in a horizontal direction in FIG. 4 in response to the tool ram 125 moving up and down.

A claw section 127 feeds one of a plurality of chained terminals n, which is the closest to the anvil unit 122, to the anvil unit 122. An arm 127 b of the claw section 127 is connected to the shaft 132 and has a shaft 1271 b passing through the elongated hole 130 a. The side plate 130 has a composite nut 131 having a center section 131 a and a peripheral section 131 b attached thereto at the center of the elongated hole 130 a. An end of the shaft 1271 b of the arm 127 b is press-fitted to the center section 131 a of the composite nut 131. The center section 131 a of the composite nut 131 can rotate with respect to the peripheral section 131 b. Thus, when the shaft 132 moves in a horizontal direction in FIG. 4 in response to the tool ram 125 moving up or down, the arm 127 b rotates about the center section 131 a of the composite nut 131 to move a claw 127 c via a link section 127 a connected thereto, and the claw 127 c feeds a terminal to the anvil unit 122.

In addition, FIG. 4 shows a wire dial 140 that is one of two dials provided on a same axis and located near the upper end of the tool ram 125. A crimper section 125 d is provided for achieving crimping in cooperation with the anvil unit 122 that is located directly below the dial and composed of a cut-off punch 1251 d and an insulation crimper 1252 d and the like.

The anvil unit 122 has a floating shear 1221 that separates a leading one from the chained terminals in cooperation with the cut-off punch 1251 d. The anvil unit further includes an insulation anvil that achieves crimping in cooperation with the insulation crimper 1252 d or the like, although the insulation anvil is not shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, FIG. 4 shows an abutment plate 126 located above the anvil unit 122, against which the tip end of the core of the stripped wire abuts for positioning of the wire.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the tool ram 125, showing components thereof. In the lower area of FIG. 5, a cut-off punch 1252, an insulation crimper 1253, a flat washer 1256, a spacer 1257 and a wire crimper 1254 are attached by a hexagonal screw 1251 to a lower part of a main section 1250 of the tool ram 125. In the middle area of FIG. 5, a crimper support 1255 is attached to the middle of the main section 1250 by a screw 1258. In the upper area of FIG. 5, the wire dial 140 is fitted into a hole 1250 a formed in an upper area of the main section 1250 through a spring 160 and an insulation dial 150. A pin 1259 is inserted directly above the hole 1250 a.

A pin 1261 and a spring 1260 constituting a plunger and fitted into the bottom of the hole 1250 a are shown directly above the main section 1250. An upper edge 1254 a of the wire crimper 1254 abuts against the bottom of a jaw 1255 b of the crimper support 1255. The flat washer 1256 is thicker than the insulation crimper 1253 and is fitted into an elongated hole 1253 a formed in the middle of the insulation crimper 1253. Thus, the insulation crimper 1253 can move vertically with respect to the main section 1250.

The wire dial 140 has a substantially cylindrical shape. The outer circumference of the main body of the wire dial, excluding a front dial plate 140 a with numerics inscribed, is constituted by, from the dial plate toward the depth thereof, a section 141 that is surrounded by the coil spring 160 and the insulation dial 150, a fitting section 142 that is a groove which is formed over the total circumference of the wire dial and into which a protrusion 1255 a of the crimper support 1255 is fitted, and a polyhedron section 143 that is cut so that different points on the circumference are at different distances from the center of the wire dial. In the middle of each surface 143 a of the polyhedron section 143, a shallow conical hole 144 is formed into which the pin 1261 of the plunger is fitted to secure the surface when the surface is selected.

The insulation dial 150 is a short component having a substantially cylindrical shape and has a polyhedron outer circumference. While the distance between the center axis and the inner circumference of the insulation dial 150 is constant, the distance between the center axis and the outer circumference varies with the position along the circumference. That is, the thickness of the insulation dial 150 varies with the point along the circumference. When rotating the insulation dial 150, the insulation dial 150 is pulled toward the dial plate of the wire dial 140 against the biasing force of the coil spring 160. When the insulation dial 150 is released, the pin 1259 protruding slightly from the main section 1250 of the tool ram 125 is fitted into a valley 151 formed in an edge of the insulation dial 150, thereby securing the rotational position of the insulation dial 150.

Now, the crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and the crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating, which are provided on a same axis according to this embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross sectional side view of an upper part of the tool ram, part of which is shown as a side view. Specifically, the crimper part is shown as a side view. In this drawing, cross sections of the insulation dial 150 are shown above and below the cross section of the wire dial 140, and the upper edge 1253 b of the insulation crimper 1253 abutting against the outer circumference of the insulation dial 150 is shown.

In addition, FIG. 6 shows the protrusion 1255 a of the crimper support 1255 fitted into the fitting section 142 formed in the outer circumference of the wire dial 140, with the upper edge 1254 a of the wire crimper 1254 abutting against the jaw 1255 b of the crimper support 1255.

In the crimping device 1, the tool ram 125 moves up and down in response to the press ram 11 (see FIG. 3), which is movably provided in a space 125 a above the tool ram 125, moving up and down. When the press ram 11 moves down, the crimper or the like of the tool ram 125 suspended from the press ram 11 comes into contact with the terminal placed under the crimper or the like, and thus, the press ram 11 moving downward decelerates. Then, the press ram 11 continues to move downward until it reaches a predetermined bottom dead center, and thus, the surface 143 a of the wire dial 140 selected at that time is pressed downward. In this process, the terminal is crimped onto the stripped part of the wire. Thus, the crimp height for the coating of the wire and the crimp height for the core of the wire are adjusted by adjusting the bottom dead centers of the insulation crimper 1253 and the wire crimper 1254, respectively, that are responsible for crimping.

The bottom dead center of the insulation crimper 1253 for crimping of an insulation barrel n12 (see FIG. 2) of the terminal is changed by rotating the insulation dial 150, because the thickness of the insulation dial 150 varies with the position along the circumference as described above. In this way, the crimp height for this part can be adjusted.

On the other hand, the bottom dead center of the wire crimper 1254 for crimping of a wire barrel n13 (see FIG. 2) of the terminal is changed by rotating the wire dial 140, because the cutting of the wire dial 140 varies with the position along the circumference as described above. In this way, the crimp height for this part can be adjusted.

As described above, in the crimping device 1 according to this embodiment, the adjustment dials are disposed toward the operator, and therefore, the crimp height adjustment can be readily achieved. In addition, since the crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and the crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating are disposed on the same axis, the height of the entire device can be reduced compared with conventional crimping devices with the adjustment dials disposed at different levels. 

I/We claim:
 1. A crimping device having a crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core of a wire onto which a terminal is to be crimped and a crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating of the wire, the mechanisms having respective adjustment dials, and the front of the crimping device facing in the opposite direction of the core, wherein the adjustment mechanisms are disposed on a same axis, and the adjustment dials of the adjustment mechanisms are disposed on the front of the crimping device.
 2. A crimping device for crimping a terminal onto a wire, the crimping device having an insulation crimper with a crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating of the wire, and a wire crimper for a core of a wire onto which a terminal is to be crimped with a crimp height adjustment mechanism for the core, the mechanisms having respective adjustment dials, and the front of the crimping device facing in the opposite direction of the core, wherein the adjustment mechanisms are disposed coaxially, and the adjustment dials of the adjustment mechanisms are disposed on the front of the crimping device.
 3. The crimping device of claim 2, wherein the insulation dial has a thickness that varies with the point along the circumference.
 4. The crimping device of claim 3, wherein the insulation dial is biased against a tool ram having a pin that locks the angular position of the insulation dial, and the insulation dial is manually biased away from the tool ram and free of the pin to adjust the crimp height for the insulation coating of the wire.
 5. The crimping device of claim 2, wherein the wire dial has a substantially cylindrical shape, with the outer circumference of the wire dial having a polyhedron section that is cut so that different points on the circumference are at different distances from the center of the wire dial.
 6. The crimping device of claim 5, wherein a crimper support is attached to the ram, and the outer circumference of the wire dial has a groove adjacent the polyhedron section, which is formed over the total circumference of the wire dial to receive a protrusion of the crimper support.
 7. The crimping device of claim 6, wherein an upper edge of the wire crimper abuts against the bottom of a jaw of the crimper support.
 8. The crimping device of claim 5, wherein each surface of the polyhedron section is provided with a shallow conical hole formed to receive a biased pin to secure the surface when the surface is selected. 